


After Horizon

by AlyssAlenko



Series: A little bit of Shenko Paradise [13]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Coping, Doubt, Drinks, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forgiveness, Friendship, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Mixing drinks, Moment to think, Musing, Past Relationship(s), Past shenko, Platonic Relationships, Romantic Angst, Self-Doubt, Thinking, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trust, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, platonic friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-27 23:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10818786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyssAlenko/pseuds/AlyssAlenko
Summary: Joker and Alyss take a moment to fix her emotionally after Horizon, because even though she gets it, shes still hurting and needs a shoulder to lean on for a moment and maybe a distraction that comes in the form of teasing her BFF Joker relentlessly...





	After Horizon

“Join me for a drink?” Alyss asked.

Joker nodded and left the Normandy to EDI. He was pretty sure seeing Kaidan on Horizon had really rattled her cage and she needed a friend. He eased himself carefully out of his chair and waited until she hooked her arm through his before the two of them made their way to the lounge, collapsing on a bar stool when they finally made it down there. Luckily, Kasumi was nowhere to be seen–she was honestly glad for the privacy…she was about to bare her soul, and she didn’t need any more witnesses to see her lose her composure…hopefully the thief was using her stealth field generator to spy on Jacob in the armory. Silently, Alyss stood behind the bar choosing several different bottles from behind her, and starting to expertly mix and combine them; Joker watched her, gauging her mood carefully before speaking.

“I’m sorry Kaidan’s not joining us.”

She set a fizzy pink drink with a neon green swizzle stick in front of him, making him eye it curiously.

“I don’t blame him.” She whispered.

“Really? Why? It’s not like he was the nicest down there. Why is this pink? I don’t want to drink a frufru girly drink.”

“Put it in your mouth and shut the hell up.” She laughed briefly, before her expression darkened. “I was dead for two years, three months and seventeen days, and spent most of that time on an operating table. He didn’t know that…he watched me die, and then suddenly I show up again out of nowhere, alive and well. To him it seemed like I had deliberately not contacted him to let him know I was okay. Plus, to top it all off, I was backed by Cerberus: a terrorist organization. Do you remember what they did? Because I do. They were experimenting with Rachni, Thorian creepers, and husks–letting their employees be killed as long as no one found out about the experiments. To them everyone was expendable…and to him it seemed like I’d stopped trying to do good.”

“But you haven’t.” Joker protested, taking a swig of his drink.

He took a moment to savor the taste before swallowing; he tasted strawberries and another fruit he couldn’t quite put his finger on, which completely doused whatever alcohol Alyss had put in it. He had to be careful or he’d end up soused–it was that good. Somehow, Joker had never pictured her as a competent bartender. Suddenly, she was at his side with a similar concoction, swirling a neon blue swizzle stick absently around the edge of her glass.

“Can you be completely honest with me for a minute?”

“That uniform does make you look a little frumpy.” He grinned.

Alyss smacked the brim of his hat down. “That’s rude and uncalled for, jerk.”

It was nice to tease her again.

“Hey, I calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.”

“Ugh. Your grammar still leaves much to be desired.” She teased. “But in all seriousness, why are you here?”

Joker furrowed his brow. “Didn’t you ask me down here for drinks?”

“Not that, here with me? You accepted that I was me, no questions asked when I could’ve been a clone or a doppelgänger. Why would you trust that Cerberus had actually brought me back, when I _know_ I wouldn’t have done the same–I wouldn’t have trusted me given the circumstances, and part of me is glad Kaidan didn’t follow me blindly…he looked like he had a pretty good life and dropping it all to follow me into probably certain death would’ve been the stupidest thing he could ever do…”

“I was a little skeptical…but you certainly looked like you, and the Normandy was very much like the first one too. But now I _know_ you’re you, there are little things you do that only people close to you know; chewing your lip when you’re concentrating, smacking my hat down, and twisting your ponytail around your fingers when you’re nervous or upset or thinking. Garrus, Tali, and Chakwas know it too.”

“Yeah well Garrus has made some shitty life choices, so he’s not the best example; quitting C-Sec because he didn’t like their rules, trying to kill Dr. Saleon in cold blood, taking refuge on a planet full of criminals to take out criminals, pissing off so many of said criminals that they all banded together to kill him, and trying to take a gunship on foot? Some life. Tali never should have had to set foot on a Cerberus ship, not after what they apparently did with the Flotilla, and Karin…her sense of stability is treating you.”

Joker shrugged. Some of her points he definitely couldn’t argue, but her unease seemed to be fading and so he downed his drink and handed her the cup, as he chewed on his swizzle stick. Alyss rolled her eyes and hopped off the barstool to make him another odd concoction; it was kind of relaxing to just stand behind the bar, mindlessly combining alcohol into new and intriguing flavors.

“Hey do me a favor and go nab that novel off Kasumi’s bed. I’m dying to read it.” She ordered, pouring another mixture into a cocktail shaker.

“Hey, what was the other flavor in that drink besides strawberry?” Joker asked as he hobbled over to Kasumi’s side of the observatory. “The Hell? Is this paper? Who uses paper anymore…and why is he shirtless?”

“Kiwi…it’s a romance novel. That’s the whole trope–and since my love life is non-existent at the moment, I think I’m allowed a little indulgence.” Alyss giggled, as Joker gingerly held the book’s spine with his forefinger and thumb like it had a fungus.

The doors slid open as Alyss poured her second mixed drink from the tumbler, and in walked Kasumi. Her gaze darted between the pair, before settling on the book in Joker’s fingers. She smirked at him, Joker’s face turning bright red as he realized what was going on behind her eyes; his eyes went wide in shock and surprise. He was never going to hear the end of this and he just knew they were going to talk about it like it was his choice.

“If you wanted to borrow that, Joker, you could’ve asked.” Kasumi teased.

“It’s not for me! It’s for Shepard!” He cried, dropping it like a red-hot poker on the bar.

“Shame on you, Joker! Lying to our allies is wrong. No one will think any less of you for wanting to read this smutty literature–it’s not like you don’t watch this kind of stuff…they’ll just be happy you _can_ read.” Alyss offered him a glass.

It was obvious the two women could barely contain their giggles.

He took the drink, grumbling under his breath. “You two are terrible people, and I hate you.”

“How’s Jacob?” Shepard asked the thief.

“Very fit.” Kasumi grinned.


End file.
